Permaculture farmers consistently cultivate perennials, crop diversity, landscape heterogeneity and nature conservation
| Autor: | Sarah Hirschfeld, Rene C. Van Acker |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Agroforestry
0211 other engineering and technologies 021107 urban & regional planning 02 engineering and technology 010501 environmental sciences 01 natural sciences Ecosystem services Geography Crop diversity Sustainability Sustainable agriculture Permaculture Polyculture Agronomy and Crop Science Agroecology 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Food Science Wildlife conservation |
| Zdroj: | Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. 35:342-351 |
| ISSN: | 1742-1713 1742-1705 |
| Popis: | Permaculture is an international sustainability movement and agroecological design system. Using ecological management practices and locally-adapted solutions, permaculture claims to benefit several ecosystem services including provisioning of diverse crop yields, regulating hydrological cycles and soil quality, supporting wildlife conservation, and biocontrol of pests, weeds and diseases. Despite limited attention by the academic community, grassroots permaculture adoption has been reported in at least 45 countries worldwide thus creating a unique opportunity for in-situ research. This study characterized plant communities on ten applied permaculture farms and found that independent adopters consistently implemented predominately perennial species (73% of species richness), polycultures (mean 42 crop species per site), and zone design. These practices resulted in commercial farms characterized by perennialization, crop diversification, landscape heterogeneity and nature conservation. Grassroots adopters were remarkably consistent in their interpretation and application of an unregulated agricultural model suggesting that such movements may exert considerable influence over local agroecological transitions. While this characterization does not provide an exhaustive depiction of applied permaculture, it is recommended that future research acknowledge these traits as a minimum for study designs investigating the effects of permaculture management on ecosystem function. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|